Living as a Victorious Christian Woman

I just had to share our Christmas morning breakfast with you. It was yummy and warm and simple and absolutely perfect. This may seem silly, but I made cinnamon rolls in the waffle maker. It's quicker than making them in the oven, and they're crispy and lovely when they're ready. If you want a quick snack, just use a couple of rolls. If you want to make a whole roll, just make two batches. Make sure you spray the waffle maker incredibly well with nonstick spray before each batch. Using a can of refrigerator cinnamon rolls (I chose the orange ones because they're my favorite), put one in each section of the waffle maker. If you want smaller ones, just use fewer rolls. Place one in the middle to do them individually and they'll spread a little. They take just as long as it takes for a regular waffle to cook - just a couple of minutes. Spread a thick layer of icing on and they're ready to go! Try this the next time you're looking for something quic...

You probably have some last-minute plans for this Christmas Eve day, right? A few more gifts to buy, a meal out with family and friends, the Christmas Eve service at church. As you're with all those people today, please remember these six simple words. Whoever you're with, believer or not, needs the influence of the Christ Child we're celebrating this week. And you can share that influence everywhere you go today. You may be the only way they hear about it. Merry Christmas Eve!

Sometimes sketches look better in my head - and in card form - than they do on paper. I've never claimed to be a professional artist, but the idea that I had for this card didn't draw very easily. The plan is to make three blocks, each one slightly larger than the one on top of it, and add an adorable accent. Two background layers give you a chance to layer, layer and layer some more.   I ink-distressed all of the paper and then matted each block of patterned paper with a coordinating paper behind it. Put the accent, in this case a butterfly, and you're all set. If you start with the top layer - your focal point - and build out from there, it's much easier to make your blocks proportionate. You can find this card, and many other cards, paper crafts and wood gifts, in our Etsy shop. Visit www.stufffromtrees.etsy.com.

No, it's not a cookie plate you'll find in any kitchen store, but it's so special at this time of year. If you're doing a lot of baking to give as gifts, consider decorating your own cookie plate. OK, so mine aren't cookies - they're chocolate chip mini muffins - but that's beside the point. Pick the sturdiest plate you can find and then grab your hole punch. You know, that one that will open a little wider and punch a little further than the others. The space your punches, starting with the ones at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock. Then add more in between until you have enough to weave your ribbon through. You'll want to choose an even number, like my 12 here, so both ends of the ribbon will end up on the same side of the plate. I used two different colors of ribbon and intertwined them. You can do something similar, choose a different fiber, color of plate and style. Then just slip it into a big, flat baggie and you're...

A couple of days ago, I stopped caring about something. It was only briefly, but I just stopped caring. I was tired, and I was sad, and I was discouraged and I was angry. So I made the choice to just stop caring. The devil whispers in that tiny little voice of his - no one else cares, so why should you? Would you believe that was the most miserable I've ever felt in my entire life? Not caring is the most empty, depressing, evil feeling in the entire world. I don't want to not care. Danny says that if I stop caring, I'm not being who I am. I'm not being the woman God made me to be if I stop caring. I refuse to go against who God wants me to be. I don't want to be so uncaring and so unfeeling that He can't use me anymore. I don't want to have hardened my heart so much that I'm not usable. Once I put my heart and soul back into that thing that I stopped caring about, the difference was like night and day. A weight has been lifted and I can...